March 26, 2015

In case you missed all the hullabaloo about Nimble Design Lab, we're continuing to improve it, based not only on our own ideas for features, but also on all the feedback that we've been receiving from our Beta Team members. Keep the feedback coming! We love making Nimble work how YOU want it to.

The first thing we want to show off is that it's now incredibly easy to add borders to your posts and sidebars. To do this, just look for the Border option within each section. Click it and the options section will slide into view. You can then click the "Change" link to see the various looks you can apply to the border like changing its color, style, and width:

These options allow you to make some great design choices for your blog. Check out how the use of a solid border on one side and the double border on the other really sets to the two sides apart on this blog:

Isn't that great? Borders are just one more tool you can utilize to make your blog stand out from the crowd.

Next, we wanted to cover some of the miscellaneous things we've been fixing as part of our Nimble housekeeping.

Previously you may have noticed that some widgets, like the Twitter or Facebook ones, would overlap within the sidebar. We've resolved this issue and it shouldn't happen any longer. If you do see this occurring, though, please open a help ticket so we can help get you straightened out.

There had also been a conflict with the ShareThis widget, but it's also been resolved and you can add it to your blog at Design > Content. Check out the Knowledge Base for more information on recommended widgets.

Finally, you should see general improvements in icons and margins on blogs.

We hope you're loving Nimble just as much as we're loving working on it! If you're using Nimble on your blog, leave a comment with a link or send us a Tweet. Maybe your blog will get featured! Keep working on those designs and maybe soon, you'll see your own design in Typepad! (New feature spolier alert!)

March 25, 2015

Recently you may have received an e-mail from Google about mobile usability issues on your blog. It would look something like this:

That looks scary, right? It might look that way, but don't panic! It actually isn't that scary at all.

All this means is that your blog needs to have a Responsive design applied to it. If you're wondering what exactly this does, it means that your blog will look as it should across all devices, whether it's a traditional laptop or desktop computer or the fanciest new tablet or smart phone. With the number of people accessing the Internet from mobile devices, making sure your blog is readable on all of them is very important.

All Typepad bloggers have access to three Responsive pre-made themes: Gourmet, Sol, and Snap. You can use any of these themes to your blog by going to Design, clicking the green "Choose a theme" button, and looking for the Responsive category. Click the one you like best, apply it to your blog, and you're set!

It's easy to use the Responsive Theme Builder. It works just as the Theme Builder you know and love, but has a few more options, including the option to make the theme Responsive. When creating your theme, just check the "Create as Responsive" box and your blog is now a Responsive blog!

Finally, you can use the Nimble Design Lab to make your blog Responsive. We've been talking about Nimble a lot around here lately (Check back tomorrow to find out about even more new features!), but that's only because it's the most exciting design element in Typepad.

Nimble's got options for just about everything and we're currently making weekly updates to the system to incorporate additional features that we've been planning on releasing and features based on your own feedback and suggestions.

Once you've selected one of these designs and applied it to your blog, you can check your blog in the Mobile-Friendly Test tool. You should receive a “mobile-friendly” score, indicating that your blog is now ready to be viewed across all types of devices.

You can also read more about Responsive themes in our Knowledge Base. If you've still got questions or need any further assistance with figuring out how to move to a Responsive theme, just open a help ticket and one of our support team members will get you straightened out!

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